BURLINGTON >> In a tough back matchup between two of the top teams in the Berkshire League it was the Lewis Mills Spartans who came away victorious against the Housatonic Mountaineers, 49-41.

“We knew they would give us their best shot,” said Spartans head coach, Joe Capitani. “They have talent, grit, they hustle and they want it.”

The Spartans led closely for most of the game until the three minute mark of the third quarter when the Mountaineers grabbed a 32-31 lead, but after a three-pointer by Lesleigh Carter the Spartans regained the lead before the end of the quarter and were able to hold off the tired Mountaineers.

“We had to use so much energy to get back into the game, I think we ran out of steam late,” said Mountaineers head coach Frank Hadsell. “We’re fighters right to the end, that’s how we practice and that’s how we play.”

Through the first three quarters of the game the Mountaineers defense gave the Spartans fits, causing them to play out of their normal offense.

“Man to man in your face defense,” said Hadsell.

The in your face defense caused the Spartans to turn the ball over, leading to some frustration for the Spartans.

“They got us to play faster than we wanted to, we struggled keeping our composure,” said Capitani. “We tend to overreact to it instead of slowing down.”

“It was general frustration,” said Spartans senior Teagan Dunn. “We were making bad passes and I threw the ball out of bounds a couple of times.”

That all changed in the fourth quarter, when the Mountaineers began to turn the ball over.

“We could have made better decisions late with the ball,” said Hadsell.

The Spartans began to slow the game down, allowing their two top scorers to close out the game.

Junior, Natalie Ruel scored six points and Dunn added four points late in the quarter.

“They carry us on offense,” said Capitani. “We rely on them to score for us and they seem to do it when we need them to.”

With the game winding down the Mountaineers began to foul, sending Ruel to line late, hoping for a miss.

“It was time to make those free throws,” said Ruel.

She did exactly that hitting her last four free throws of the game to seal the win for the Spartans.

“I thought coming into the year they would be a good team,” said Capitani of the Mountaineers, who went 9-11 last season.

Freshman Lauren Segalla led the Mountaineers with 13 points in the loss.

The Mountaineers are now 7-3 on the season and return to the court next Tuesday at home against Litchfield at 7 p.m.

With the win the Spartans improve to 9-1 and have a quick turnaround, hosting Northwestern on Saturday night at 7 p.m.

“They’re going to be the same as Housatonic,” said Capitani. “There are going to give us their best, we are going to have to match their energy.”